Entrepreneurship should be included in the school curriculum so that the youth can gain skills that will put them at an advantage in projects such as the Musina Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ), a breakaway group at the Musina Makhado SEZ Youth Empowerment Indaba said.
The conference, hosted by the Musina Makhado SEZ SOC (MMSEZ SOC), was aimed at providing the youth with information about the SEZ implementation progress and opportunities available.
The group said that the curriculum should take into account developments leading to the fourth industrial revolution to ensure that the youth are ready for the radical changes it is set to bring to everyday life and business.
Reporting back to the main gathering at the indaba, group leader Tlangelani Manganyi said they had also resolved that sector education and training authorities, which provide funding for learnerships, internships and further learning, should be decentralised to make them easily accessible to communities, especially those falling under the MMSEZ area. Training institutions also needed to be closer to communities, she said.
The group also called for an urgent convention of a specialised MMSEZ skills indaba to help capacitate the youth and other stakeholders with the necessary skills to seize opportunities in the SEZ project.
Manganyi said her group had identified the lack of a dedicated skills academy focusing on the expertise required in the technical projects that fall under the MMSEZ project.
During his state of the province address, Limpopo premier Stanley Mathabatha said the province would introduce coding and robotics as a subject at 110 primary schools in 2021.
He said this was part of government’s plan to equip learners with the skills needed for the fourth industrial revolution. Mathabatha said the government also would provide 75 secondary and 32 primary schools with ICT equipment. – Mukurukuru Media
